Web Review, Week 2023-09
Let’s go for my web review for the week 2023-09.
Godot 4.0 sets sail: All aboard for new horizons
Tags: tech, 3d, gaming, godot
This is a huge release. Lots of very strong and needed feature to be a competitive engine. Congrats!
https://godotengine.org/article/godot-4-0-sets-sail/
Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone | Nokia | The Guardian
Tags: tech, mobile, nokia, ecology
Coming from Zombie Nokia, still I think we need more options like this. It is the number one solution to reduce ecological footprints of computing.
OpenAI Is Now Everything It Promised Not to Be: Corporate, Closed-Source, and For-Profit
Tags: tech, ai, gpt, ethics, business
When they changed their statutes it was the first sign… now it’s clear all ethics went through the window. It’s about fueling the hype to drive money home.
Keep your AI claims in check | Federal Trade Commission
Tags: tech, ai, criticism
That’s a good set of questions to ask ourselves when in contact with a product claiming the use of “AI”.
https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/02/keep-your-ai-claims-check
New C++23 features I’m excited about - twdev.blog
Tags: tech, c++
This newer standard brings up interesting features again. I’m especially interested in std:expected myself.
https://twdev.blog/2022/10/cpp23/
SymPy makes math fun again
Tags: tech, mathematics, python
This really looks like a nice library for symbolic maths. Keep in mind it’s python based but it goes all the way to generating solutions to the given problem in various languages.
https://wordsandbuttons.online/sympy_makes_math_fun_again.html
Game Asset Storage, Loading, Compression and Caching | PH3 Blog
Tags: tech, gaming, compression, tests
Interesting new compression format around the corner. Might turn out useful in some cases. I could definitely have used it last year for a test harness with very large reference data (so no, not gaming).
https://ph3at.github.io/posts/Asset-Compression/
The Great Gaslighting of the JavaScript Era | The Spicy Web
Tags: tech, web, frontend, react, complexity
A bit of a rant so brace yourselves. Still, it’s very much aligned with the current backslash against “everything must be an SPA” trend and makes very good points on how it happened. This indeed turned into a popularity contest based on false premises. Meanwhile… complexity increased dramatically on the web frontend side and the performances are bad for most users.
https://www.spicyweb.dev/the-great-gaslighting-of-the-js-age/
Visual design rules you can safely follow every time
Tags: tech, gui, design, ux
Very nice set of rules. They are very simple to apply individually. The art is in respecting it all of course.
https://anthonyhobday.com/sideprojects/saferules/
Clever Code Considered Harmful
Tags: tech, complexity, maintenance, craftsmanship
Good musing about simple code and complexity. We definitely should avoid unwarranted complexity in our code, or at least try to prevent it’s spreading.
https://www.joshwcomeau.com/career/clever-code-considered-harmful/
Stop saying “technical debt” - Stack Overflow Blog
Tags: tech, technical-debt, maintenance, craftsmanship
Definitely this. I think this could have turned into a good term until it was used for everything under the sun. It’s about maintainability first, not just about what you like or not.
https://stackoverflow.blog/2023/02/27/stop-saying-technical-debt/
The lone developer problem
Tags: tech, programming, craftsmanship, team
Development is and has to be a team sport indeed.
https://evanhahn.com/the-lone-developer-problem/
A thorough team guide to RFCs. A reference guide to implement RFCs as… | by Juan Pablo Buriticá | Feb, 2023 | Juan’s And Zeroes
Tags: tech, decision-making, product-management
They’re definitely a powerful tool. I see them used in a few places but definitely not enough.
https://buriti.ca/a-thorough-team-guide-to-rfcs-8aa14f8e757c
6 qualities that make a great engineer | Inside Intercom
Tags: tech, quality, culture
A bit too much written in superlatives for my taste. Still, this is an interesting set of qualities indeed. Definitely things to aim for.
https://www.intercom.com/blog/traits-of-exceptional-engineers/
The Missing Semester of Your CS Education
Tags: tech, university, craftsmanship, tools
Having taught quite a bit at the university, having interviewed quite a few junior developers… I have to agree what’s proposed here is missing from most curricula. I wish this would be taught more systematically. If not at least students everywhere should know this online course exists.
https://missing.csail.mit.edu/
Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology - John Dunlosky, Katherine A. Rawson, Elizabeth J. Marsh, Mitchell J. Nathan, Daniel T. Willingham, 2013
Tags: teaching, learning
Very interesting but long state of the art and evaluation of learning techniques. This is definitely something students should look at to pick better techniques. The way I design my trainings and coaching session seem to be mostly aligned with the findings, they tend to foster the right learning techniques… Still that’s up to the students to pick up the opportunity instead of repeating usual inefficient patterns.
https://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/rbtfl/Z10jaVH/60XQM/full
Bye for now!